Talkback Thread #1: Godzilla (1954)

[edgaguirus]

So, the authorities felt the details on the model buildings were too realistic?

[Great Hierophant]

The attack sequence in Godzilla: King of the Monsters is nearly the same until after Godzilla torches the police vehicle and the watch tower. In this sequence of events, he nearly floods the Sukiya Bridge and caves in the Toho Nichigeki Theater with his tail. Then he is next seen in front of the Diet building. Next comes the crushing of the Wako Clock Tower, then he approaches the TV tower and chews down on it (with the Diet building in the background). The next shots show him roaring at the birdcage and his destruction of the "news office" (where Steve Martin was incapacitated). These shots were originally of Godzilla stomping through the wing of the Diet building and incinerating the Matsuzakaya Department Store. In reality the two landmarks are separated by about 4 miles. Essentially in this version Godzilla teleports miles away from shot to shot.

[msmahi]

The attack sequence in Godzilla: King of the Monsters is nearly the same until after Godzilla torches the police vehicle and the watch tower. In this sequence of events, he nearly floods the Sukiya Bridge and caves in the Toho Nichigeki Theater with his tail. Then he is next seen in front of the Diet building. Next comes the crushing of the Wako Clock Tower, then he approaches the TV tower and chews down on it (with the Diet building in the background). The next shots show him roaring at the birdcage and his destruction of the "news office" (where Steve Martin was incapacitated). These shots were originally of Godzilla stomping through the wing of the Diet building and incinerating the Matsuzakaya Department Store. In reality the two landmarks are separated by about 4 miles. Essentially in this version Godzilla teleports miles away from shot to shot.

One amazing continuity problem that comes up while recounting the attack scenario in "Godzilla: King of the Monsters" is that Godzilla appears to teleport between places that are miles distant. This oddity can be the result of editing decisions that led to a fragmented perception of the scene and action. Though it doesn't necessarily take away from the film's entertainment value, it does draw attention to how difficult it is to keep complicated action sequences consistently geographically. Observant viewers may get disinterested in the experience due to these details, which serve as a reminder that movies are created. However, the scene highlights Godzilla's enormous strength and the amount of devastation he is capable of wreaking.

[edgaguirus]

It does effectively show how much danger Godzilla poses. The first attack is a taste of what Godzilla can do, and then the second attack reveals that nothing can contain or stop Godzilla. The electric fence is a spectacular failure. The tank squad is defeated by a wall of flames. Godzilla can even travel great distances without problem. The only thing that can stop a biological doomsday weapon is another doomsday weapon.

[Jeff-Goldblum2]

Where do you stand on the two million years ago issue? When it's stated by Yamane that the Jurassic period was 2 million years ago.

It's a bit unfortunate to have such an inaccuracy in such a fundamental film to the world of prehistoric monster movies.

[Legion1979]

It's a bit unfortunate to have such an inaccuracy in such a fundamental film to the world of prehistoric monster movies.

But is it?

[UltramanGoji]

Where do you stand on the two million years ago issue?

It's an anachronism from a 70-year old movie. Who cares?

[Zero One]

Is it just me or is Godzilla 54 more of a horror film than any other kaiju film(not counting the nuclear scare stuff).
Black and White tone.
The score is one of the best and creepy at times
Godzilla's raid on tokyo is very serrious.
The ending
That scene in the lab with the fish tank.
And my fav when slowly goji coming out of tokyo bay

[Spuro]

Where do you stand on the two million years ago issue?

It's an anachronism from a 70-year old movie. Who cares?

I mean, 70 years ago they still really should have known better. It’s a pretty big fuck up.

[MaxRebo320]

You can always pretend the "Two Million Years" line was a slip-up on Yamane's part (just because he's an expert paleontologist doesn't mean he's a great speaker) if it bugs you that damn much.

[edgaguirus]

Is it just me or is Godzilla 54 more of a horror film than any other kaiju film(not counting the nuclear scare stuff).
Black and White tone.
The score is one of the best and creepy at times
Godzilla's raid on tokyo is very serrious.
The ending
That scene in the lab with the fish tank.
And my fav when slowly goji coming out of tokyo bay

There are two kaiju films that I would consider horror films. The first half of Rodan is one. Gojira, though, is a nightmare all the way to the end.

As to Yamane's slip of the tongue, at least he's no Dr. Arnold calling Godzilla a Tyrannosaur/Stegosaur hybrid.

[JAGzilla]

The two million years line is pretty trivial, but I do see the problem. This film is much more serious, grounded, and all-around well-crafted than the average monster movie of the time, and having a silly inaccuracy like that takes the viewer out of the movie and associates it with its schlockier contemporaries. Not a big deal, I even like it, but it's a chip in the polish if you're looking for perfection.

[LSD Jellyfish]

The two million years line is pretty trivial, but I do see the problem. This film is much more serious, grounded, and all-around well-crafted than the average monster movie of the time, and having a silly inaccuracy like that takes the viewer out of the movie and associates it with its schlockier contemporaries. Not a big deal, I even like it, but it's a chip in the polish if you're looking for perfection.

Until I saw JeffGoldblum2’s post I never even assumed or was aware this was an “inaccuracy”. And to humans, 200 may years versus 2 million or whatever might as well be the same thing. Honestly it’s really silly for anyone to be affected by this, and I agree MaxRebo has a nice “out” for people who are bothered by it. But here’s some other easier explanations:

-Yamane, while an expert in his field, was merely reporting based on what he knew at the time, versus what contemporary paleontology tells us.

[LegendZilla]

The two million years line is pretty trivial, but I do see the problem. This film is much more serious, grounded, and all-around well-crafted than the average monster movie of the time, and having a silly inaccuracy like that takes the viewer out of the movie and associates it with its schlockier contemporaries. Not a big deal, I even like it, but it's a chip in the polish if you're looking for perfection.

Until I saw JeffGoldblum2’s post I never even assumed or was aware this was an “inaccuracy”. And to humans, 200 may years versus 2 million or whatever might as well be the same thing. Honestly it’s really silly for anyone to be affected by this, and I agree MaxRebo has a nice “out” for people who are bothered by it. But here’s some other easier explanations:

-Yamane, while an expert in his field, was merely reporting based on what he knew at the time, versus what contemporary paleontology tells us.

I think it's more a matter of the scarceity of knowledge in 1954 when compared to now. Back then, most audiences would've been unaware or oblivious.

[edgaguirus]

If a dinosaur movie made today made that same error, it would be all over the internet.

[MogeGoji1994]

Just rewatched this movie the other day with my girlfriend (her first time seeing it!) and something occurred to me. There are multiple scenes of birds in cages and Godzilla passing by these same cages. They seemed deliberate enough given their inclusion in the film, but I do not know of any possible reason for it. I was hoping someone more knowledgeable here could help shine some light upon this.

Edit: another question I have: how was Godzilla's breath created for this movie? Was it simply practical water vapor they used on the set?

[JAGzilla]

I only remember one birdcage scene. I always assumed it was an aviary at a zoo. As for the reason for including that shot, it does just look interesting and the panic of the trapped birds adds to the horror of the situation. Presumably the zoo was a well-known, popular attraction that Japanese audiences would recognize, so it's another Tokyo landmark featured in the rampage.

[canofhumdingers]

A lot of the breath is mist or vapor, but at least some of the longer distance shots of the breath are rotoscope animation.

[edgaguirus]

I know that the close ups of Godzilla's breath was a puppet that shot a stream of mist from the mouth.

[VaderTyrannus]

This just entered my head and I can't stop thinking about it: could this film work as a Twilight Zone episode?

There was an edit of Planet of the Apes that turned it into one. Gojira is kinda similar, using fantastical concepts to symbolize social issues.